We've all been there. You have an idea for a project but you don't get started on it. You're timid and worried about failing, and so you seek advice from someone else or wait for the right circumstances. Here's the truth though: you don't need anyone's permission.

Personal finance blog I Will Teach You to Be Rich explains how many of us want to get started on personal projects but keep finding reasons not to. We'll wait for the right circumstances, ask a mentor whether we should, or look for some kind of outside cue. The author has one piece of advice for people in that situation: stop waiting, start doing.

But we ALSO have new opportunities available that our parents did not. Do you realize you're reading a free email that I send every 2-3 days to over 250,000 people? Do you know I'm writing this from my couch in NYC in the middle of the day? And you're reading this, plus god knows how many other blogs, all with instant free access? When else could this have been possible? ...The truth is, you already have the skills to do it. We can stop waiting for the mythical day that the stars align and get started now.

You might not succeed at exactly what you hope to achieve. You may even fall on your face. But at the worst, it will be a better learning experience than doing nothing. Even failure is how you get better. So, don't let being afraid keep you from taking that most crucial first step.